


The oldest ten-year-old

by MiriRainbowitz



Series: Perspectives [1]
Category: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-03-01 02:11:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18790900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiriRainbowitz/pseuds/MiriRainbowitz
Summary: Neal's thoughts on being schooled on chivalry by a ten-year-old girl.





	The oldest ten-year-old

All his life, Neal had prided himself on being a good person. He was from a progressive family, and he didn't disdain foreigners or women or commoners like most conservative nobles. He had thought, at the lofty age of fifteen, that he understood what it meant to be chivalrous.

With Kel's words echoing in his head, he realized that he knew absolutely _nothing_ about chivalry.

Well, he knew the theory- treat everyone equally, stop harm where you see it, etc- but he'd never considered how it would be applied in practice. A knight was supposed to obey the Code of Chivalry, so he'd do that when he was a knight.

But the way Kel had put it ( _Do we say, Oh, now I’m going to be nice to the weak and the small? Or do we do as we learned when we were pages?_ ) was like getting a bucket of cold water dumped over his head. He'd never heard anyone talk about chivalrous behavior that way before- not as a theory with rules to memorize, but as a daily habit. As something you had to start doing _now_.

He'd taken ethics classes from very smart people, and Neal was certain that none of them were anywhere _near_ as mature as the ten-year-old girl walking down the corridor. Neal shook his head and ran up to Kel. He had a feeling that the rest of this evening was going to be interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> I just started a gofundme to get a hysterectomy. You can donate directly [here](https://www.gofundme.com/1nuiu3v7w0) or reblog [this post](https://dammmithardison.tumblr.com/post/185472729795/click-here-to-support-hysterectomy-organized-by) to spread the word.


End file.
